Barbra Streisand, Adele, Norah Jones to perform live at 85th Academy Awards

CEBU, Philippines - Two-time Academy Award winner Barbra Streisand, multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Adele, and Grammy® Award-winning singer-songwriter Norah Jones are tapped to perform at the 85th Academy Awards®, which airs live on Velvet Channel on February 25, starting at 6:00am.

Adele and Jones will perform their Oscar-nominated movie themes while Streisand will take the Oscars® stage for the first time since she sang the love theme from “A Star Is Born” on the March 28, 1977 show.

“In an evening that celebrates the artistry of movies and music,” said producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, “how could the telecast be complete without Barbra Streisand? We are honored that she has agreed to do a very special performance on this year’s Oscars, her first time singing on the show in 36 years.”

Adele, who has not performed in any U.S. television show since Grammys last year, will perform the Oscar-nominated song “Skyfall”, from the latest James Bond film of the same title. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth, and is the first Bond theme ever to debut in Billboard’s Top 10 and the first to be nominated for an Oscar since “For Your Eyes Only” in 1981. Adele’s Oscar show performance will be the first time she will have performed “Skyfall” anywhere live.

“It’s an honor to be nominated, and terrifyingly wonderful to be singing in front of people who have captured my imagination over and over again,” said Adele. “It’s something I’ve never experienced and probably only ever will once!”

Also nominated for an Originals Song at the Oscars, “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” from the motion picture “Ted”, will be Jones’ first performance in an Oscar show.

“I had such a great time recording this song with Seth, and was thrilled to find out that it was nominated for an Oscar,” said Jones. “Getting to perform it at such a prestigious event, which my friend is hosting, is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Meanwhile, the Oscars will also include a special celebration of movie musicals of the last ten years. “The musical as a motion picture genre has had a remarkable renaissance in the last decade,” said producers Zadan and Meron. “We are excited to showcase three musical films — ’Chicago,’ ‘Dreamgirls’ and ‘Les Misérables’ — on our Oscar show.”

The 85th Academy Awards, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, will air live and complete on Velvet Channel, home of the country’s premier red carpet events, on February 25 starting at 6:00 a.m. with the red carpet/arrivals special followed by the main ceremony at 9:30 a.m.

Velvet (SkyCable Channel 53) is available on SkyCable Platinum, SkyCable Gold, SkyCable Silver and other quality cable operators nationwide. (FREEMAN)